The present invention relates to beverage dispensing systems, and more particularly to apparatus for signaling the depletion of beverage from a beverage container.
The invention is concerned with the problem of signaling to an attendant, such as a bartender dispensing beer from a tap, that a storage container, such as a keg of beer, is empty before a relatively long delivery line from the container to the tap has also become depleted of the beverage. If all or a significant portion of the line becomes void of beverage and thereby fills with gas (e.g., air or carbon dioxide), dispensing of the beverage may be difficult when a new full container is connected to the delivery line to replace the empty container. For example, when carbonated beverages are being dispensed, a large concentrated mass of carbon dioxide in the line causes severe foaming at the dispensing valve.
Prior apparatus has incorporated signal system components within the storage containers to sense the level of liquid in the container. Transferring these components from an empty container to a new full container is timeconsuming and difficult. Providing permanently mounted components in each container is expensive. Complex level detecting apparatus is not required for the simpler task of signaling only the total depletion of beverage from the container.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,127,875, 2,138,677, 2,182,195 and 2,483,967 are relevant to the field of signaling the level of a beverage in a container.